SIUE, High Point, Omaha Break Through to Big Dance
March Madness! SIUE, High Point, and Omaha punch first-ever NCAA tickets, while Drake dominates Arch Madness.
It was an incredible weekend of college basketball as conference tournaments are in full swing. We’ve had several teams punch their tickets to the NCAA Tournament including the Drake Bulldogs who took down Bradley on Sunday to win Arch Madness and Lipscomb who took down North Alabama to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament. However, for three other teams…this season means more. SIUE, High Point, and Omaha are all headed to the Big Dance for the first time in their programs’ history.
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SIUE took down SEMO 69-48 in a all around dominating performance. The Cougars outrebounded the Redhawks 50-31, held them to just 3-24 shooting from three point and just 28.3% overall. Local star senior Ray’Sean Taylor racked up 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on his way to winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament MVP award. It’s been an incredible year for head coach Brian Barone and the SIUE Cougars. They are heading to the NCAA Tournament with a 22-11 record, marking their first 20+ win season in school history as well.
High Point provided us with a roller coaster ride of a game. At halftime, Winthrop held a ten point lead and grew that lead to as high as 15 points in the second half. However, High Point got hot and stayed hot. The Panthers would go on to outscore Winthrop 52-30 in the second half to elevate them to an 81-69 victory. It seemed as if every shot they threw up was splashing in. Bobby Pettiford was the spark off the bench that got the run starting. He banked in a three and the energy never let up. Pettiford finished with 17 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals off the bench to lead the Panthers. Trae Benham nearly had a double-double with eight points and ten rebounds off the bench, while Kezza Giffa led the starters with 16 points, three rebounds, and one assist. The Panthers have been so close, so many times and the long wait is over as they are going dancing.
Omaha had the rare “punch a ticket before you win the tournament” moment as their Summit League Championship opponent was St. Thomas who is in the NCAA transition period (a wait period before a division one program becomes a “full-member”). That didn’t end up mattering as the Mavericks knocked off St. Thomas to win the tournament 85-75 on Sunday evening. Marquel Sutton finished with a ridiculous stat line of 22 points and 18 rebounds, while JJ White poured in 29 points for Omaha. The program gained renown for their head coach Chris Crutchfield smashing trash cans after games while celebrating wins. If you are a trash can in Omaha, I’m sorry.
The Drake Bulldogs put on a defensive clinic against Bradley, winning 63-48 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Bradley has been one of the best three point shooting teams in the entire country all year, but the Bulldogs kept them to just 5-20 from beyond the arc. For Drake, Bennett Stirtz continued to amaze as he finished with 24 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocks. Ben McCollum has been nothing less than incredible in his first year as head coach of Drake. The Bulldogs are headed to the NCAA Tournament with a 30-3 record, wins over Kansas State, Vanderbilt, and more. Some bracketologists have them as high as a five seed, but I see an eight or nine as more realistic. As we wrap up, we have to mention an absurd stat that you must know: Ben McCollum has won his conference tournament eight out of the last nine years. All this guy does is win and it’s going to be incredible seeing him coach in the NCAA Tournament.
Lipscomb punched their ticket to the Big Dance for the second time in school history, taking down North Alabama 76-65. The environment proved why on-campus championships is an incredible experience. Allen Arena was sold out with 5,139 people in attendance as Joe Anderson put on a show in the final stretch of the game to elevate the Bisons to a win. It was back-and-forth for the majority of the game, but Anderson racked up nine points in the final two minutes and nine seconds of the game which proved the difference maker. Anderson finished with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks. The Bisons poured in 12 threes, completing just seven other baskets the entire game. Yep, just seven. Lipscomb racked up 26 free throws on 30 attempts. The referees were having a field day as there were a total of 37 fouls and 54 free throw attempts between the two teams. Lennie Acuff is another proven winner with a history outside of the division one ranks and he has Lipscomb rolling onto the tournament where they should be considered a potential bracket buster.
As we wrap up our brief weekend recap highlighting the tournament champions, we have to acknowledge an incredible story that is developing in the WCC Tournament. Coming into the first round, Pepperdine was 10-21 and just 4-14 in conference play. The Waves have now won three games in a row, knocking off Portland 86-73, Oregon State 77-73, and Santa Clara 78-76 to advance to the semifinals. They’ll take on Saint Mary’s on Monday evening where the run will most likely come to an end, but you can never say never! Moe Odum has been a man on a mission as he’s averaging 22.3 points, 11.3 assists, and 3.7 rebounds during the tournament. This is truly March Madness are its finest.